This volume focuses on interaction between vegetation, relief, climate, soil and fauna in the treeline ecotone, and the effects of climate change and land use in North America and Europe.

Conifers are known to everyone as a conspicuous kind of evergreen trees or shrubs that feature prominently in gardens and parks as well as in many managed forests in the cool to cold temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Numerous books have been written about them and continue to appear, mostly with a bias towards these uses in Europe and North America. This new handbook of the conifers is departing from this traditional approach in that it includes all the world's 615 species of conifers, of which some 200 occur in the tropics. It gives as much information about these and the Southern Hemisphere conifers as about the better known species, drawing on research into the taxonomy, biology, ecology, distribution and uses by the author over nearly 30 years. The result is a truly encyclopedic work, a true handbook of all the world's conifers, richly illustrated by the author with his line drawings and photographs taken from the natural habitats of the species.

Bamboo occupies an unparalleled position in the plant kingdom in terms of its distribution, diversity and uses in the tropics and subtropics. In addition to featuring prominently in the lives of rural communities, particularly in Asia, it continues to find new applications in such wide ranging areas as paper and rayon manufacture; construction; architecture; engineering; handicrafts; food and medicine. Within Asia, India is second only to China in terms of the quantities and varieties of bamboo species found in the country. However, as in many other countries, information on this subject is generally inadequate and inaccessible. Contradictory reports on various aspects of bamboos, especially relating to taxonomic and phytogeographic observations, further add to the confusion regarding classification. There is thus an urgent need for a review of the current literature and a compilation of information on the various species of bamboo, including their synonyms. This compilation by K.K. Seethalakshmi and M.S. Muktesh Kumar, scientists specializing in plant physiology and taxonomy respectively at the Kerala Forest Research Institute, seeks to fulfil this need. Based primarily on a literature survey, it provides a comprehensive and holistic account of 128 bamboo species belonging to 18 genera occurring in India. By synthesizing and consolidating the work done so far on each of the covered species, it is expected to illuminate current information gaps and to provide a solid foundation for further work in this area.